My dog was born with very bad hips. He's now 8 and last weekend for no apparant reason he became very lame. I took him to the vet and she recommended rimadyl. I voiced my concerns - however she told me it was the drug of choice and I should monitor him closely (it wasn't my usual vet).

Last night I noticed he wanted to go to toilet quite frequently. Today I noticed blood in the urine and every couple of steps he was going to the toilet. I rang the vet and had to take him to my local out of hours emergency service.

I'd done some research on the net about rimadyl and on the manufacturers website it stated that blood in the urine could indicate a toxic reaction and that before your dog starts taking rimadyl they should undergo baseline tests (which mine didn't). Luckily I'd printed this off and so I took it to the vets with me. It was a good job I did as the vet had never heard of this side effect. It wasn't until I produced the printed sheets from the manufacturers website that he took me seriously.

Arch is a de-sexed male so a UTI is very unusual. He's had the ultrasound, blood tests etc (which came back with unusual results) and there don't appear to be an abnormalities - apart from the lining of his bladder is 5 times thicker than it should be - which is worrying. The vet doesn't think it's the rimadyl - he thinks it's co-incidence. I find it strange that I started my dog on it on Monday and by Saturday he's got blood in his urnine (he'd previously had no other signs of a UTI)

I suppose the reason I'm posting this is to find out whether anyone else has had this experience with rimadyl. The emergency vet rang my regular vet at his home. I don't know whether this is because I was ranting (in a nice way) about rimadyl.

I rang up the company who manufacture rimadyl here in Australia and got the number of their emergency vet who naturally told me that it was co-incidence - but he's not likely to admit liability.

I'd be really interested in anyone elses opinion. Even worse I'm supposed to be going on holiday next Saturday and at the moment I feel like cancelling it.

My vet tries to avoid Rimadyl due to a higher chance of side effects - but remember, no medication is 100% safe and anything can be reacted too.

I would ask your vet about Deramaxx - I used it for a dog with bad hips and it worked for some time. I eventually, after a few years, had to go to just baby or triple buffered aspirin on his worst days - but by that time, due to age, it was a case of quality of what he had left as opposed to quantity so the increased risks with aspirin were acceptable.

But talk seriously with your vet about Deramaxx. I am finding more and more vets here in the US not going first for Rimadyl and using that as one of the last choices.

Web resaources on Carprofen / Norocarp / Rimadyl

Safety of Cartrophen Vet in the dog:review of adverse reaction reports
in the UK in JOURNAL OF SMALL ANIMAL PRACTICE • VOL 44 • MAY 2003 is on http://www.arthritis.au.com/dogsafety/CVI%20safety.pdf

This quote appears on a number of websites such as http://www.australianhorse.com.au/pets/4303.php extolling the virtues on natural medicine

And according to this website: http://www.sconevet.com.au/companion/rimadyl.html


I just limited my google search to my local area and took these from the first few hits. I'm sure that if you did a worldwide search you'd get a lot more info.

Here are a few more reference sites and quotes from each:

http://www.rimadyl.com/


http://www.rimadyl.com/display.asp?country...=CN&sec=660



http://www.norbrook.co.uk/Products/ProductData.cfm


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carprofen

My Dobie/G. Shep Mix underwent a TPLO (torn acl) at 1 1/2 years and during rehabilitationa and even prior to that, he was on Rimadyl. He had no affects that we noticed, but we did have a chemistry done prior to putting him on it. It was not a choice that our vet gave us either. She said it was standard protocol to do a chemistry (checking liver enzymes) b/c of the fact that Rimadyl can cause serious liver damage or problems. Since he was so young, that could be why he had no reaction to it, but it seemed like a very well known fact at my veterinary hospital. Even the technicians knew about it. They prepped me with info before I even saw the Dr.

He just finished rehab, dr. gave him a clean bill of health, and said he was able to be a crazy dog again. I'm sorry to hear that there are Dr's out there pushing prescriptions that they haven't even followed up or learned about, but then again, that's a common problem for humans too!!! I recently had a bad reaction to a new acid reflux medication prescribed to me by my Dr. When I called him to tell him that I just got out of the E.R. due to an allergic reaction to my meds, he said, "Huh, I've been seeing that alot recently!" Thanks Doc!

I've seen at least two Australian Vets and specifically mentioned my concerns over Carprofen which they both perscribed and on both occasions they had no clue of any side effects nor what's happenning in the US or the UK over Carprofen.

It might be because they only have Norocarp version of it and it's used in much smaller doses over here.

Yet neither knew anything about doing blood tests nor the incidence of sudden deaths from Carprofen.

I did forget to mention that we did divide his daily dose into two. We gave him 1/2 in the morning AFTER breakfast and 1/2 in the evening AFTER dinner and his dosage was the greatest amount allowed for a canine. Again, this was done on my vets recommendation since it can cause nausea and vomiting. She also said it was beneficial to the liver b/c it didn't have to process it all at one time, instead it had half the day to process 1/2 the amount.

Now, this was never meant to be a lifelong drug, but was to aid in the prevention of a TPLO (which didn't work) and to help with the healing process. They took him off of it 3 weeks after surgery and he has been on Dasuquin for arthritis which, again, we divide into two doses a day to help out his stomach. He is on 1 pill a day for the rest of his life for arthritic maintanence but that's it. We recently switched up his food to include glucosamine and chondroitin and the Dr. said we could probably take him off the prescription since he's getting everything he needs in his food.

It wasn't a standard 10 panel blood test they gave him either. They gave him something they called a "Chemistry Panel" which monitored the enzymes in his liver, kidneys, and pancreas. If his enzymes had been low, then we could not have given him Rimadyl, we would have had to explore other options, one of which I believe was the Deramaxx, but would not have been as effective due to the severity of his injury.

I did talk to my vet about other options that didn't include narcotics for the remainder of his life (He's almost 2). We talked about supplements but she also gave me some information about a company, (I cannot think of the name but I'll find it and post it later) that makes doggie wheelchairs exactly to the measurements of your dog. Now these are unlike the typical chairs in that the back legs aren't tucked under, but are in the normal walking stance. They can even toe touch if need be. This keeps the back legs active while giving support to the hips. It's not meant for everyday use, but for when you're going to be out for awhile.

Your not alone!!
Our miniature poodle is 10months old and has loose knee caps and a out of joint hip. The vet suggested Rimadyl and/or surgery. We chose Rimadyl 1st! She had been on this pill before when she had been spayed and seemed ok.
Now, She has been drinking A LOT more than usual!! Shes also a little more hyper and agreesive. Ive looked up this side effect and am shocked this is still on the market! I realise EVERYTHING has side effects but out of 10 ppl 6 have lost their pets to this drug and thats terrible! Im not willing to risk my puppys life! I went to www.thepetguardian.com and a few of her changes are listed and plan on printing it and taking it to the VET tomorro!

BELOW IS A LIST OF SIDE EFFECTS FROM THE SIDE


Decrease or increase in appetite
Vomiting
Change in bowel movements (such as diarrhea, or black, tarry or bloody stools)
Change in behavior (such as decreased or increased activity level, incoordination, seizure or aggression)
Yellowing of gums, skin, or whites of the eyes (jaundice)
Change in drinking habits (frequency, amount consumed)
Change in urination habits (frequency, color, or smell)
Change in skin (redness, scabs, or scratching)
It is important to stop therapy and contact your veterinarian immediately if you think your dog has a medical problem or side effect from Rimadyl therapy. If you have additional questions about possible side effects, talk to your veterinarian.